Another Chance with Another You
by Yukari Rin
Summary: Noein and Naruto crossover. AU. Wherever you go, I'll be there with you, she had promised him. How could she know that her very existence could only bring him pain, and can he stop the cycle of tragedy? Details inside.
1. Prologue

**Title:** _Another Chance with Another You_

**Author:** Yukari Rin

**Fandom(s):** _Noein Mou Hitori no Kimi e_ and _Naruto_

**Rating:** T for light violence and occasional rough language later on, and character death

**Pairing(s):** SasuSaku, NaruIno, NejiTen, JirTsu, AsuKure, LeeGaa, and one-sided TenSasu

**Notes:** In _Noein_ the Calvary members are all named after birds. However, it was easier for me to assign various animals to the _Naruto_ characters. Some, like Gaara and Naruto, take on their jinchuuriki animal names. Others like Temari and Kankurou use their summon's and puppet's names, respectively. It is important to note, then, that Temari is referred to as "Itachi". She is not to be mistaken as Uchiha Itachi. "Fukurou" was used in _Noein_, but I use the name for a different character. Also, since _Noein_ deals with multiple dimensions, a pairing may show up multiple times, but with different versions of the characters. AND, I don't believe the Fire country's capital has ever been named.

**Disclaimer:** _Noein Mou Hitori no Kimi e_ belongs to Bandai and related parties. _Naruto_ belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and related parties. This manuscript is property of Yukari Rin.

_Another Chance with Another You_

By Yukari Rin

**Prologue**

"Hebi, behind you!" the masked female called as she threw a quick succession of four kunai into the massive snake that was after her raven-haired teammate. He ignored her and flipped onto its scales, running along its spine.

"Chidori!" he cried, sinking his left fist into the snake's skull. The creature flailed about before crashing into the lush canopy. The man grabbed onto a branch and climbed to the top of the tree, surveying the damage. The forest shook as the ground began to rumble.

"An earthquake?" an alarmed voice questioned behind a weasel mask.

"No, another one is coming," the solemn voice of the team's leader answered.

The man on the tree tensed in anticipation, fingers twitching as he counted his supply of weapons in his mind. He closed his eyes and waited for the word to move.

"Now!" shouted the captain, and instantly the man pushed of against the branch, chakra pulsating through his legs and feet as another woman summoned wind to help him into the blood red sky. He opened his eyes and ripped off his mask to see better, scarlet irises focusing on the tear in a cloud. He made a series of hand seals and brought his left hand to his mouth as his right drew his sword. The man opened his mouth and blew out a stream of fire as the new snake emerged and shot its neck out to him, jaw open and thin tongue twitching.

As he was about to bring his blade down he noticed the golden beam flying towards him and the monster. "Idiot," he whispered through clenched teeth. He twisted himself onto the monster's head and thrust his blade into the tough skin. He pushed and pulled the sword down, lifting the snake's head to block the blow as much as possible.

When the sound impact faded and the man's teammates looked up for him, they found nothing but the sky.


	2. Chapter One: Snow

**Chapter One: Snow**

The girl rolled onto her back and slowly opened her eyes, blinking sleep away. "A dream?" he scratchy voice whispered. She glanced at her alarm clock; its bright red digital letters letting her know that she was late for school. She threw back her covers and tumbled onto the floor. "Ow," she moaned, rubbing her knees as she made her way to her wardrobe. Her pet frogs greeted her with ribbets from their tank as she hastily changed from her pajamas into her school clothes. "You're in charge, Gamabunta," she cheerily called as she left her room. After finishing her morning ablutions and brushing her pink hair she hurried into the kitchen and grabbed a breakfast bar.

"Dad?" she knocked on the doorframe of his study. The white-haired man shot up and wiped a hand across his mouth. "I put the coffee on for you, Dad. I'm running late for school."

"It's that late already?" he asked, not hiding a yawn. His daughter rolled her eyes. "Well, be careful, Sakura." he told her before shifting through the papers he had been sleeping on.

"Of course!" she said before putting her shoes on in the foyer and heading towards her school.

It was a beautiful morning and the shopkeepers called out their greetings to her as she passed them in between announcing their deals of the day and helping their first customers. Sakura loved living in Konoha. It was fairly large, but it still retained the feel of a small town where everyone knew each other. It was quite different from the bustling capital city she had lived in for a few years after her birth there. She smiled as she thought about the park gardens she used to visit often with her parents as she stopped in front of the Yamanaka Flower Shop.

The small bell above the door jingled as she entered the store nodding in greeting to the blonde woman preparing bouquets. "Is that you, forehead-girl?" a sing-song voice rang from the back of the shop.

"You bet it is, Ino-pig," Sakura answered. Ino stepped into the room with a smug look on her face.

"It took you long enough to get here," the blonde said as she ushered her friend out of the aromatic store. "It doesn't look like you spent extra time into looking pretty this morning, so what took you so long?"

Sakura sighed and shot her friend a look. "Only _you_ spend your entire morning putting on make-up and picking out clothes, Ino. I slept in, that's all."

Ino snorted. "Maybe if you put in an effort or two to look better you'd have a boyfriend."

"Ugh, Ino, how many times do I have to tell you-"

"I know, I know," the blonde said dramatically. "Sasuke Sasuke Sasuke. Jeeze, you'd think for having a writer for a dad you'd have a larger vocabulary."

Sakura ignored her friend's comment and looked at the sky as a gentle breeze made its way down the street. She tucked a lock of her hair behind and ear and stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. A man in a brown cloak was standing on the top of the railing of the town hall's roof. Although they were several dozen meters apart, she could feel his gaze on her.

"Sakura, are you okay?" Ino asked her, placing her hand on Sakura's shoulder. Sakura jumped and turned to the girl.

"What'd you say?" she asked, feeling her heart racing.

"I asked if you were okay, like, five times," Ino said indignantly. "Are you even paying attention to me?

"Sorry, Ino, it's just that that man..." her voice trailed off as she pointed to the tower where the man had been. But he was no longer there.

"Forehead-girl, could you at least wait until summer vacation actually starts before you go crazy? There's no one there."

Sakura stared at the railing. Had she really just imagined him? The school bell rang. "C'mon, Ino-pig, we'll be late!" she began running, Ino's voice fading quickly as she rushed past vendors and pedestrians to get to school on time.

----------

The two girls raced down the hall to their classroom, neck to neck. They arrived at the same time, but Ino threw her arm out to her side, blocking Sakura from entering the classroom. "I won!" the blonde crowed happily. She dropped her arm and smirked at Sakura before glancing around the room. When her eyes settled on a blond boy sleeping at his desk she stomped over to him and kicked the underside of his chair, startling the boy awake.

He jumped in his seat, hitting his knees on his desk and whimpered. "Jeeze, Ino! What was that for?"

"No one wants to see your drool, so clean it up, you idiot." Ino shot him a look that told him a reply would not be tolerated before she walked to the other side of the room and sat down at her desk. Naruto stared at her as he wiped his chin, muttering under his breath about "crazy psychotic girls with mental problems".

Sakura noticed the empty seat in front of Naruto's desk, where Sasuke usually sat. _'Strange,'_ she thought, _'he's usually the first student here'_.' She walked through the room to her seat, pushing through a crowd that had gathered around Rock Lee's desk. The group was murmuring as Lee motioned enthusiastically. "What's up with him?" Sakura nodded in his direction as she sat beside Ino.

"Something about a ghost, I think," she sighed and peeked at Naruto, who had fallen asleep again. "Idiot," she whispered.

Lee must have overheard Sakura's question because he appeared at her side. "Did you hear about the ghost that's haunting the graveyard?" the thick-browed student asked animatedly.

Sakura shook her head no, and Lee instantly lit up. "He's a weirdo in a cape and wears glasses, right? I heard you can barely see his face, if it's even there at all." Sakura felt her heart skip a beat. _'A cape? Sounds like the man I saw earlier.'_ She tried to picture him in her mind, but she hadn't been able to see his face clearly since the breeze was blowing his hair across his face. She was lost in her thoughts when a sudden outburst from Lee jarred her from her thoughts. It also woke Naruto up in a cry.

"What was that for?" he cried out again.

"I was just telling our classmates about the graveyard ghost, Naruto," Lee told him with his usual smile.

"G-ghost?" Naruto's complexion visibly faded.

"It's just a rumor. Someone probably made it up to freak little kids out," Ino interjected.

"Little kids like Naruto," a snide voice commented.

"Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Hn," was all he said as he slouched into his desk.

"I'm not afraid of ghosts!" Naruto declared, clenching a fist determinedly.

"Then shall we have a test of courage to see the ghost for ourselves and find out if Naruto really is afraid of them or not?" Lee clapped his hands together and grinned.

"Wha-" Naruto started to object.

"Sounds fun! I'm in!" Ino nodded.

"What about you, Sakura?" Lee asked politely.

She was about to answer him when their teacher strolled into the room, ten minutes late. "Everyone take your seats. The sooner we get started the closer summer vacation will be."

"But you're the one who was late!" Naruto shouted.

"Wasting time," Kakashi sang as he opened his attendance book and began calling names.

----------

Despite Kakashi's hopes of the day passing quickly, it seemed to drag on slowly. By the end of the day all of the students were tired from the heat but bursting with energy knowing that they were free from school for a few weeks. They rushed out of their classrooms and clogged the halls as they all tried to be the first student out of the school. Sasuke waited for the initial rush to die down before making his way out of the room, not bothering to say good-bye to his friends.

"Sasuke, wait a minute!" Sakura called to him. He didn't wait, so Sakura had to catch him in the hall. "Do you want to do the test of courage, Sasuke?" she asked quietly.

"I have cram school," he replied continuing down the hall.

"What about after that?" she asked grabbing his sleeve.

"Not interested, now can I go? I have stuff to do before cram school," he turned his head and glared at her.

"Fine," Sakura whispered as she dropped her hand. She walked back to the classroom and took her bag from Ino. Changing her expression of worry to one of mischief she asked her friends, "You guys want to meet tomorrow night at the gate in front of the cemetery at ten?"

Lee cheered while Naruto swallowed nervously. They all exited the building and began walking home together before splitting up to their respective homes. Ino sighed at Sakura's quietness as they continued on together. "Worried about Sasuke?"

The pink-haired girl nodded. "He's studying so hard for his exams that he might make himself sick."

"Why's he stressing over them so much? Does he want to go to middle school in the capital that much?"

"I don't think so. His dad's pressuring him a lot to do it, and Sasuke isn't really complaining about it, but I don't think he wants to leave Konoha."

"So why doesn't he say anything?" Ino asked dramatically.

"You don't know his dad too well, do you, Ino?" Sakura inquired of her friend. "Lately he's always pushing Sasuke to be the best and not to let anything get in his way of success. I don't know why he suddenly changed, but he wasn't always like that." Sakura shrugged as she and Ino had reached a park near their street that was filled with children playing and adults sitting and reading newspapers.

A man smoking a cigarette watched the children playing and sighed. _'To be young again,'_ he thought, glancing at the woman sitting next to him. She was fiercely watching her laptop's screen. The man pulled out his cigarette and put it out. He scratched his chin and yawned. "Hey, Kurenai, do you know what today is?" the man asked.

"Aside from the date, no," she replied, still focused on the monitor. She drew her brows together before leaning over to the antenna at her feet and adjusting it.

"It's the first day of summer vacation, Kurenai," he informed her as if it was an obvious fact.

"Adults with jobs don't have vacations," she told him. From the corner of her eye she saw him pull out his pack of cigarettes . "And how many times do I have to remind you not to smoke around me, Asuma?"

He put the pack back into the shirt pocket on his chest and stretched. The activity on the monitor caught his eye and he leaned in. "That looks different."

"Yes, I've never seen this kind of reaction before," she bit her bottom lip and watched the data come in.

"Shouldn't you call headquarters to let them know?"

She shook her head and black locks fell over her shoulders. "No, they want more than this. But at least we know it's possible to achieve what we need now."

Sakura glanced at her watch. "Ah! It's this late all ready? I've got to run to the store, Ino. I'll see you later tonight!" she waved as she ran across the field, passing the bench where Kurenai and Asuma were sitting.

Once she exited the park by turning onto a side street the data Kurenai had been collecting suddenly stopped coming in. "That's odd," Kurenai noted. Asuma shrugged and stood.

"Should we call it a day or move to another location?"

"Let's go somewhere else. Maybe the reading was off due to all the people here." Kurenai packed her equipment up and the two headed to Asuma's car before driving off in the direction of the school.

----------

The grandfather clock in the hall chimed out the time, five-thirty PM. Sasuke skimmed the page of a textbook before scribbling something in a notebook and picking up his calculator. His father sat at the head of the table reading a newspaper. "Sasuke, you remember that your lessons start early tonight because of the school break, right?"

"Yes, sir," Sasuke replied quietly, intent on the equation.

"You'll be busy with summer assignments as well as homework from cram school during vacation, don't you think?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then I think it'd be wise if you didn't see your classmates at all during your time away from school. Just focus on studying for your exams."

Sasuke tightened his grip on his calculator. "Yes, sir."

----------

"A test of courage, you said?"

Sakura nodded as she filled the rice bowl her father had handed to her. "Tomorrow night. It's okay with you if I go, right? Ino'll be there, and so will Naruto and Lee."

Her father narrowed his eyes and lifted the corners of his lips. "A double date?"

His daughter rolled her eyes and slammed his bowl on the table. "Not even close."

He let out a breath and picked up his bowl. "It's fine with me, just don't waste your summer doing stupid things, Sakura."

"I'm not doing stupid things! Who do you think went to the store and cleaned this house and made the food you're eating?"

"It's not that hard to make ramen, Sakura," her father said, slurping the noodles.

"It's more than you do! Don't complain about food you don't make."

"But you said you'd do all the housework so I could work on my novel!"

"Even more reason not to complain," Sakura huffed.

Her father pointed his chopsticks at her, "You try being a single father raising a daughter and tell me how you like it, okay? It's not that easy. I'm doing the best I can."

"If you didn't spend all the child-support money mom gives you on foolish things, it wouldn't be so hard now, would it?"

Her father crouched down close to the table. "How do you know about that?"

Exasperated, Sakura stood to get a drink from the kitchen. "You're noisy when you're drunk."

"Are you saying I'm not allowed to relieve stress?"

"Not at all, dad," her voice called from the kitchen. "It's just that you spend all your time researching that you don't write. How can you be a writer and not write?"

"You make it sound like I don't get anything published."

"Nothing of any value, at least."

"Hey! My novels have value! Who do you think bought this house?!"

"You bought it from grandfather, dad. That doesn't count."

"But I still bought it," her father whined as he finished his dinner.

----------

A man with black hair wearing a brown cape stood on the top of the Town Hall. In the air in front of him was a circle that was ornately surrounded with writing. He lifted his right hand to his mouth and bit down on his thumb. Sakura shot up from her bed, dropping the magazine she had been reading before she fell asleep. A look at her alarm clock told her it was nine-fifteen. "I'm late!" she told herself as she grabbed a light jacket.

"I'm going, dad!" she yelled to him as she tugged her shoes on. Without waiting for a reply she left the house and ran to the business district, where Sasuke's cram school was. The students were leaving the building as she turned onto the block the building was on and Sakura tried to control her breath as she jogged to the door, looking for Sasuke. She saw him a few meters away and called out to him. He turned and saw her with a surprised expression. "I thought I would miss you. Are classes longer because of vacation?"

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked her, his expression turning cold.

Sakura simply shrugged and fell in step with him, "I felt like taking a walk."

"Why were you _here_? It's a bit of a distance from your house."

"I felt like taking a long walk."

"And the fact that it's dangerous to walk alone at night never dawned on you?" he lifted a delicate brow.

"I know how to take care of myself, Sasuke. But thanks for worrying," she smiled. "You're the one who should be careful, studying so much will make you sick."

Sasuke groaned and stopped walking. "I'm not worried, so don't thank me. And you're the one who kept talking about the capital. Where do you think my dad got the idea to have me go to school there?! You talked about running away back there and living with your mom!"

"I had just had a fight with my dad that day, Sasuke. My mom's always so busy with work that I hardly get to see her, so living with her would be more like living by myself."

"Is that such a bad thing?" the glare Sasuke gave her was colder than anything Sakura had ever seen before, and she let him walk a bit before catching up.

"Sasuke! Wait a minute," Sakura begged as he sped up.

"Just forget about it," he told her as he turned onto a side street and pointed to bus stop. "Go home, Sakura."

"It's the truth. A person can't just say they want to move in with one parent and have everything be okay. It takes a bit of planning." Sasuke had plopped himself on the stoop of a store and she walked over to stand in front of him.

"You think I don't know that? Even if you run away you'll just get found and be brought back to your dad's house. It's even worse when you only have one parent, because you can't even choose where you want to live." The spite in his voice was also unfamiliar to Sakura, making her worry even more about him. She crouched down and gently put a hand on his left knee. "Believe me, I know running away isn't that easy," he whispered. "I can't wait until I can leave this town for good, without having to answer to my father."

Sakura squeezed his kneecap and smiled. "When you become an adult you'll be able to go anywhere and do anything you want and he won't be able to stop you, Sasuke."

He pulled away from her and lowered his face into his hands. "What makes a person an adult? Why aren't I one already?"

"Sasuke...?"

"I hate having to do everything he says. I want to be free now," he whispered, taking a deep breath and chuckling quietly. Sakura could only watch him, unsure of what to say. The streetlamps flickered. "I think I'm going crazy."

That hadn't been what she expected at all. "Sasuke," she reached out to touch his arm reassuringly as a strong wind blew, but her hand went through his arm. She gasped and pulled her hand back to her chest, standing and looking around the street, wondering what was going on. She reached down to touch Sasuke again, but as her hand passed through him she saw the black-haired man fighting impossibly large snakes in her mind. She stepped back and glanced up at the sky. There was something falling gently, so she lifted her hands out and felt the cold particles fall on her skin. "Snow?" The sky was no longer black, but a deep blood red. The buildings and street also looked different, their colors inverted to black and white. She sensed someone nearby and turned to face the direction she and Sasuke had come from.

Up from the sidewalk emerged a man wearing a brown cape. His black hair was waving from the energy that circled and sparked around him. It was the man she had dreamed about and seen earlier, she immediately realized. She could only stare as he rose from the ground and got his bearings straight. In an instant he was in front of her, and she hadn't seen him move. She felt the electricity from him crack against her skin, but she could not move nor scream to call for help.

"I've finally found it," the man said with what sounded like awe in his voice. He reached out to touch Sakura, but the blue electricity surrounding him crackled loudly. In the blink of an eye he had vanished and Sakura's surroundings returned to normal.

Sakura spun around to see that Sasuke was all right. He lifted his head, but otherwise didn't seem affected by what had happened. A bus pulled up to the stop and a few passengers got off. The driver waited for Sakura to get on since she was standing near the door, but he sighed and pulled away. "He's gone," she whispered as raised her face to the sky.

----------

"Did Matsuri call you, Sakura?" Ino asked as she sat down on the bench and flipped her blonde ponytail over her shoulder.

"No, does she want to do the test of courage with us tonight?"

Ino shook her head. "No, she just called to tell me she saw a different ghost. He was wearing cape, too, but he didn't have glasses."

Sakura shrugged and covered a yawn. "I've seen him, too."

"What?!" Ino dropped her jaw and stared at her friend. "Hey, when, Sakura? Where?"

"Yesterday when we were walking to school,-"

"Excuse me, young ladies," a deep voice spoke. Both girls looked to where the speaker was. He held a styrofoam coffee cup in his hands. "Are you girls from around here? I'm checking something out, and I was wondering if you might be able to help me. I'd be happy to get you something refreshing to drink in return," he smiled and shook his cup.

Ino looked the man up and down before standing and pulling Sakura's arm as she made some distance between them and the man. "PERVERT!" she screamed as she shot off with Sakura.

A few blocks away Sakura freed her wrist from Ino's iron grip and demanded to know why she had to run. Ino was breathing heavily, trying to catch her breath. "He was obviously a pervert, Sakura. Who knows what he would have done if we stuck around longer. We need to tell the police so they can be on the lookout for him!" Ino took a deep breath and straightened her back.

"I think we'll be fine, Ino. I doubt he was a pervert, even if he did seem shady. Approaching us in broad daylight is kind of stupid, don't you think?" Ino blushed lightly and then the two laughed as they began walking.

Asuma stayed still and watched them rush off, Sakura asking Ino what was the matter. "Oh well," he shrugged as he tossed his empty cup into a garbage pail and pulling out a cigarette. He had just lit up when his cell phone rang. "This is Asuma, what can I do for you?" A female voice greeted him. "Ah, Kurenai. How are things where you are?" She was currently walking along the top of the rock wall that had been carved into a monument for four war heroes that had lived in Konoha.

"I just got a call from my boss. They finished the analysis of the data I sent them."

"Oh? What's the verdict?"

"They confirmed the irregularity found in the majority of what we collected."

"So that means we're going to have to stick around for a bit, doesn't it?"

"I'm sorry to be keeping you from your regular job."

"Don't worry about it. What do we do now, though?"

"I'm going over what's possible now, but do you want to join me so we can discuss it together?"

"Are you asking me this out of personal desire, or professional concern?"

"Professional concern, Asuma," and with that she hung up on him.

----------

Later that day Sasuke was working on his cram school assignments when he heard a thump against his window. He chose to ignore it, and the second thump, but got up from his desk between the third and the fourth. When he pushed the curtain aside he saw Naruto grinning at him, a medium-sized rubber ball in his hand. The blond motioned for Sasuke to join him. Sasuke grabbed his cram school books and shoved them in his back pack before turning his room light off and walking down to his front door. His father was in the living room reading a newspaper with his back to the front door. "I'm going to cram school, father," he called out loud enough to be heard but softly enough not to be scolded for raising his voice. He left without waiting for a reply.

Once outside Naruto threw an arm over one of Sasuke's shoulders. "Tests of courage are more fun than tests at cram school, that's for sure," he said as he led Sasuke down the street.

"Naruto."

"What?"

"I know you're scared."

"Shut up."

Fifteen minutes later they arrived at the cemetery's front gate. Sakura, Ino, and Lee were waiting for them. Sakura smiled at Sasuke and handed him her extra flashlight. Ino crept behind Naruto and surprised him with a loud "boo!" which didn't please him at all. Lee opened the gate as they laughed at Naruto's reaction and led the way through the stones. "I just know where going to see something. I can feel it within me! Does anyone feel any goosebumbs on their arms, because I don't." He waved his flashlight back and forth across the path and the gravestones that lined it, slowly walking deeper into the graveyard.

Naruto was behind him, next to Ino. "Guys, is anyone else not thinking this is a good idea? I mean, the path is rocky and someone could get hurt since all we have are flashlights."

"What, you mean you're too afraid to go on?" Ino asked with a spooky voice as she held her flashlight beneath her chin and pointed up.

"I... well, that is... " Naruto stuttered out.

"Guys, come on, we're not even to the middle yet!" Lee called a meter or two away from them.

"Lee..." Naruto sighed as he hung his head.

"He's not even afraid, is he?" Ino asked no one in particular.

The group of four watched Lee as he motioned for them to hurry up. Ino was about to step forward when she noticed something slowly drifting down from the sky near Lee. It looked like white lights steadily glowing, so she knew it wasn't fireflies. Sakura bumped into her. "What's wrong?"

"I thought I saw white lights," she replied.

Naruto shivered and stepped back. "That isn't funny."

"What's keeping you guys?" Lee called.

"I saw a weird light, Lee," Ino called back, walking to him.

"Ah! I've heard of that paranormal phenomenon! Let's hurry!" he cried.

"What in particular have you heard about it?" Sakura asked unsurely.

"Ah! Look! There!" Lee jumped up and down as he pointed to a circle of light quickly gliding nearer to them.

Sasuke felt his heart sink, it wasn't something paranormal, it was a car's headlight. The second beam quickly confirmed his thoughts and he sighed. There was only person it could be. The car stopped in front of the gate and his father got out. Sasuke could read the rage on his father's face very clearly. His father marched up to him, grabbed him, and pulled him to the car. Sasuke glared at the large back in front of him, but didn't say anything.

"You're late for cram school. They called to ask where you were and said that it wasn't too late for you to show up. I specifically told you not to see them over break, did I not, Sasuke?"

Naruto jogged over to the car as Sasuke's father was shoving him into the passenger seat, and opened his mouth, but was silenced as the older man continued. "Hanging out with these people will get you nowhere." He slammed Sasuke's door and walked to the driver's side. A moment later he turned the car around and drove off.

----------

"Coordinates set, prepare for mission departure," a man in white said mechanically as he slid a knife along his thumb pad. Eight individuals in capes stepped into the summoning circles and performed a series of hand seals, finishing right as the man wiped his thumb on the ground, dragging it from the circle her drew and connecting it to an individual one that was occupied by one of the eight ANBU. The eight circles had been connected to each other by the members' blood, and the man in white's blood was the only thing that linked their circles to his. There was a loud pop quickly followed by seven more as the eight ANBU vanished, leaving the man to concentrate on keeping them connected to their world as they left for another. The world where the Inner Being had fled to.

----------

"Lee, I think you're the only one who wants to keep searching," Naruto whined as he slumped over his knees, tired from hiking through the hilly graveyard.

"If you say that then the ghosts will never show up! We have to focus our thoughts so that they know we want to see them!" the thick-browed boy informed the blond enthusiastically.

"But what if we don't want to see them?" Naruto asked quietly.

"Nonsense! Come on, everyone, say it together with me, 'oh haunting spirits, please make your presence known to us!'" Lee chanted the phrase over several times as he stepped off of the path and weaved through a row of stones.

"Are you asking for a death wish or something?" Naruto sighed under his breath as he stood and followed Lee nervously.

"Sakura, stop worrying about Sasuke," Ino told her as they walked up to where Lee and Naruto had left the path.

"I'm not!"

"Right, and pigs can fly," Ino snorted as she left the path.

"Well, you would know, wouldn't you Ino-pig?" Sakura teased.

Ino turned and directed the beam of her flashlight into Sakura's eyes, blinding her for a moment. "Not funny."

----------

Sasuke's father had more to say as he drove his son down the hill and to the cram school. "What were you thinking hanging out at night at your age? Do you have any idea what could have happened to you? Their parents clearly don't care enough about them, otherwise they wouldn't have thought to do something like this. Whose idea was it, Sasuke? I know you wouldn't have gone on your own volition."

"I can't take this anymore," Sasuke mumbled under his breath.

"What did you say?" his father growled.

"Stop the car," a whisper, ignored. "Stop the car." A request, ignored. "STOP THE CAR!" Sasuke yelled. His father was frightened at the sudden outburst and pulled to the side of the road. Sasuke didn't wait for the car to stop as he ripped off his seatbelt and pushed open the door. He threw his bag onto the road and ran as fast as he could away from his father, towards the cemetery.

----------

Sakura and Ino caught up to Naruto and Lee near a particularly large grave marker. Naruto was inspecting the faded writing on it as the others explored the area surrounding them. Sakura's flashlight caught something small drifting down over a grave about six over from where they were looking. "Snow?" she wondered.

"Did you say something, Sakura?" Ino looked back to her friend.

Sakura pointed her flashlight to the ground and held her hand up, directing Ino's attention to the snow. Ino's blue eyes grew large as she looked where Sakura was looking. "You're kidding, right? We're in Konoha, Sakura. It doesn't snow here." Ino sighed and walked up the hill to join Naruto and Lee, who had moved on. Sakura kept looking where she had seen the snow, only it wasn't falling anymore.

Naruto and Lee had made it to the top of the hill, with Naruto complaining the whole time. Lee was about to tell him to be quiet when he noticed the blue haze they were walking towards. He stopped short and Naruto walked into him. "Naruto, look," he said, lifting his flashlight. The light went out, however, so he shook it and aside from a momentary success, the light remained out.

"Battery died, huh?" Naruto asked before finally doing what Lee had told him to. "Wha... it's nothing. It's nothing, there's nothing there," he babbled as he dropped his own flashlight that had died when Lee's had. It bounced on a grassy patch of the ground and turned on again, shedding light onto the object Lee had found. It shifted out of the light, but there was no mistaking the human-like body and the cloak it was wearing.

"What are you guys looking at?" Ino asked slowly as she came up on Lee's other side.

"The ghost," Lee whispered with wide eyes and wide smile. Ino looked forward as the ghost stood, grasping the closest grave marker and grabbing onto before falling once again. He breathed in deeply and it sounded like an old windbag was filling up. He looked at them, small black glasses broken and laying on the ground.

Ino, Naruto, and Lee screamed at the top of their lungs at the same time. Ino and Lee spun around and quickly dashed down the hill, nearly tripping and rolling down in their anxiousness to get away from the ghost. Naruto, however was rooted in fear, and could only shake tremendously as the ghost crawled his way clawingly to Naruto's feet. The ghost reached up as if in pain and clutched Naruto's pants. Naruto could have sworn he had peed himself at that moment. Naruto screamed again, and the ghost cried out and vanished, leaving only his broken glasses behind as proof of his existence. Free from the ghost's seemingly paralyzing effect, Naruto turned without reaching for his flashlight and ran as quickly as he could down the hill and to his friends.

Sakura heard her friends screaming as she carefully made her way up to where they had been. Lee rushed past her, nearly knocking her over, and Ino slowed down a bit to grab Sakura's arm. "Hurry, Sakura!" she urged. Sakura stumbled a bit and saw Naruto hurrying down. She finally realized that something was wrong, and she started running as well.

----------

"Confirmation of safe arrival," the man in white said to himself from his spot on the floor in front of the summoning circle in the wide but dim room.

----------

One of the ANBU appeared in the forest that bordered the cemetery. He brought his hands together in the o-hitsuji hand seal and concentrated on feeling any surrounding chakra. He opened his eyes and smirked behind his snake mask. "High chakra levels detected nearby. Heading out to investigate."

----------

"I'm telling you, there's no way that was a ghost!" Naruto told his friends for the umpteenth time since they had gathered at a streetlamp a few blocks away from the cemetery. "Who's ever heard of a ghost breathing? It's just not possible!"

"But you said he just disappeared into thin air, Naruto. Living things can't do that," Lee tried to reason levelly. He danced around the deserted street as Naruto chased after him trying denying the existence of ghosts.

Sakura was standing with her hands wrapped around her torso, slightly uncomfortable with the way the night had played out. The thing her friends described to her sounded very much like the man she had seen last night, and he definitely wasn't a ghost. She wasn't sure if had meant to harm her or not, but she didn't want to risk seeing if the other "ghosts" were friendly or not. "Ino, whatever the thing was that you guys saw, it wasn't a ghost," she said quietly, stealing a wary glance at the direction of the graveyard. "I don't think we should go around bragging about what happened."

Lee caught the last part of what she said and put his hands on his hips. "No one else in Konoha that's seen the ghost has experienced what we did, I don't see why we should be happy about it."

Down the street there was a sudden noise as a flock of birds flew away from the forest. Lee began arguing with Ino while Naruto listened to both sides. Sakura watched as the birds flew, and noticed that one was much larger than the others. And had a human form. She gasped, getting her friends' attention. "We need to get out of here," she said in a low voice, slowly backing away. The others were confused and looked at the road and the forest.

"What are you talking about, Sakura?"

"What's wrong?"

"Are you okay, Sakura?"

"Just stop talking and run, please!" She said, tucking her flashlight into a pocket on her shorts and tugging Naruto and Ino down the street. "Lee, hurry. Stop asking questions and go!"

It was Lee who noticed the flying figure next. "Another one!"

"You've got to be kidding me!" Naruto cried.

"Run!" Sakura cried again.

The man in the sky watched them behind his mask. His red eyes were trained on them, scanning each one, and he discovered that it was Sakura who he had detected the chakra from a moment earlier. He flew after them, knowing exactly where they were headed. "It's her?" he asked himself, disbelieving what he felt.

"This can't be happening!" Naruto sang at full volume as they tried to escape.

"Well, obviously it is!" Ino barked at him.

Sakura glanced behind her and noticed the man watching her. _'It's me he wants? Fine, so long as the others get away.'_ She slowed down and stopped to catch her breath, watching as her friends continued down the road. She took a deep breath before running to the cemetery fence that lined the road and climbing over it. She landed in a crouch and pulled out her flashlight before running past a few graves.

She stopped when she saw the man slowly descend and land on gravestone. It was the man from the night before and her dreams, but knowing that didn't make her feel any better. He was a strange man and she had no idea why he was chasing her. She threw her flashlight at him, but it went through him just as her hand had gone through Sasuke. "What are you?" she sobbed, fear creeping in on her heart and mind. The man floated down and pulled of his mask as a gust of win blew in from behind Sakura. It was her first time getting a good look of his face, and though she had never seen it before, it felt vaguely familiar to her.

As Sakura and the man stared each other down, Lee noticed that they were no longer being followed. Naruto and Ino stopped beside him and scanned the sky nervously, not ready to declare themselves safe. They heard a pounding of footsteps and looked to the direction they had been headed, surprised to see Sasuke hurrying towards them. "Where's Sakura?" he asked barely out of breath.

----------

"I... I know you're after me," she spoke with a shaky voice. Neither she nor the man had moved.

"Sakura!" shouted a voice followed by the sound of foliage being moved. Sasuke jumped over the fence with ease and dashed up in between her and then cloaked man. He held his left hand back behind him, to keep Sakura safe as he pulled out a pocket knife from behind his sock. "Just who in hell are you?" Sasuke's voice was rough but steady. Sakura looked at him and to the man, feeling more than ever that she knew him.

The man however, kept his lips in a straight line, nearly unblinking even as the wind blew in his face.

"Answer me!" Sasuke ordered as he held the small knife up.

The man's eyes flickered in recognition as he glanced between Sasuke and Sakura. "So that's how it is, huh?" he spoke quietly. "This time space... Give up, boy, you won't do it. You won't be able to save her."

"Tell me who you are!" Sasuke threatened once more, gripping the handle in his hand more tightly. Sakura kept her eyes on the man, trying to figure out why she felt connected to him.

The wind snapped the man's cloak away and behind his body, showing his well-trained body. He reached out his left hand. "Me? I'm you."


	3. Chapter Two: Running Away

**Chapter 2: Running Away**

The wind changed direction as a man with an eagle mask rose from the ground, leaning a shoulder against the remains of an old wall. He was missing an arm, but he let the fact roll off of his back as he took command of the situation. "Yamamba, how far off are we from our target?"

The woman with a panda bear mask made the ram seal and was quiet for a moment. "Not far."

"Kitsune, Tanuki, and Hebi aren't here, commander," spoke a man with an owl mask.

"Are they close, Yamamba?" the leader asked.

"They aren't together, but Hebi landed nearest the target."

"And the other two?"

"I can't feel them," she pushed her mask up. "Washi, your-"

"I know," the commander interrupted her. "I won't be able to use my techniques as well, you all must fight harder now. "Fukurou, set a tag here for a teleport point."

"Yes, commander," the owl-masked man pulled out a tag from a pouch and attached it to a tree stump as the others surveyed their surroundings, adjusting themselves to the new dimension.

----------

Sasuke's hand shook as his grip tightened around the knife hilt.

"You won't be able to save her," the man repeated with an ominous tone as he twitched his hand. A burst of energy flew past Sakura and slammed into Sasuke's body, throwing him back against a gravestone. Sakura cried out and stepped towards him, "Will you believe in him?"

She turned with fear in her eyes to see him studying her intently, as if her answer could change her fate. "I-"

"To think the Inner Being would show up in a cozy little town like this, in a little girl, no less," croaked a sinister voice before its owner began to chuckle. Sakura looked to her feet as sand grains in the soil clumped together and rose up directly in front of her, inches from her body. "I'll get it before you, Hebi."

"Inner Being?" Sakura asked nervously as the new man leaned over her.

"Stop it, Tanuki. You know teleporting takes a certain amount of skill, if it can't teleport even though you take it with you, we'll lose it again."

Tanuki hissed. "We only need her head, right? Why bother with the rest of her?" Sasuke moaned and sat up as Sakura anxiously glanced between him and the men, desperately hoping for a way out. Hebi moved his outstretch in Tanuki's direction and two snakes shot out from his sleeve, bearing their fangs less than an inch from his face. Sakura breathed in a shaky breath and slowly rotated her head to look behind her. Hebi's eyes glowed red in the moonlight.

"I said stop," his voice was razor sharp.

"You're not my captain, Hebi."

"If you move without orders I will report you to him to receive the proper punishment." Tanuki snarled and vanished, the sand that had been his body falling to earth as if what had been holding him together let it go. "A clone?" Hebi spun around just as a sword of sand was about to pierce his back. There was a pop and smoke as a log fell to the ground. He reappeared a few feet away, with his sword drawn.

"Douka! Sabaku Kyuu!" Tanuki screamed as sand flew out from the gourd on his back and raced to enfold his opponent.

----------

"Tanuki and Hebi are fighting!" Fukurou declared as her and his teammates made their way uncertainly through the outskirts of Konoha. "We're still not adjusted to this place, it could be dangerous."

"Have either of them transformed?" the captain asked uneasily.

"Not yet, but if one of them does, I can't be sure of what will happen to this world.

Washi pushed his mask onto his forehead and glanced around. "The dormant chakra in the creatures here is awakening." He noticed the forest creatures freeze in their activities as everything around them inverted its colors. "Time has stopped."

----------

Sakura watched as once again everything changed its appearance. Sasuke was immobile, but Hebi and Tanuki were unaffected, like her. Both men were breathing heavily as they fought, Hebi evading Tanuki's sand each time it came at him. He was doing well at remaining unscathed, but he couldn't land a hit on the redheaded man.

"Do you see what you've caused to happen, Tanuki? Stopping time will only shorten our time here."

"Shut up. I could finish you off right now and no one would care. 'He died doing his job' is what they'd say and then move on with the mission." Bullets of sand shot out to the red-eyed man who blocked them with a shield made of coiled snakes from his arm. He wasn't able to stop the sand rising from the dirt behind him, though, and Tanuki laughed manically as he jumped into the air. The sand rose with him, creating a rope between him and Hebi as he rose higher.

"Chidori Nagashi!" the hardened sand around Hebi melted away. Now able to move his arms, he threw two decoy kunai at his foe as he strung nearly invisible wire around a few shuriken before throwing them and looping them around Tanuki's body. Unfortunately the sand hardened before the wire could tighten, giving the redhead a chance to attack. He moaned as his right arm mutated and expanded into a grotesque appendage a few times larger than the rest of his body. The new arm swung down, as if swatting a fly.

Before he could crush Hebi, though, a third figure dashed between them and held up his hands, blocking the massive hand with a large ball of some sort of energy that gave off a blinding blue-yellow light. When the light faded Sakura could see the three of them hovering in the air.

"Are you guys trying to get yourselves killed?" the new man, wearing a fox mask bellowed. "We're on a mission, here, if you remember."

"Tch," Tanuki chided as his arm went back to normal, the sand that had covered it in its larger form making its way back to the gourd.

"Kitsune, what kept you?" Hebi asked the man.

"The coordinates were off. I guess the summoning circles weren't as connected as well all thought. The others are all together, though. Did you find the Inner Being?" his voice lost its authoritative edge and had become friendly. Hebi directed his gaze to Sakura, and Kitsune followed. "Huh?" He pulled his mask down and stared at her. "The Inner Being is in _her_?" he questioned incredulously. Hebi made no reply.

----------

"Captain, we have to go back, the support member at the base used too much chakra to stop time to protect this world from the damage Hebi and Tanuki might have caused," Fukurou warned. "He's using the last of his strength to pull us back, but we have to make sure we get there." Right after he finished speaking they all felt the tingling heat of a forced chakra invasion in their systems before they vanished.

----------

The sky and the cemetery returned to their proper colors and Sakura could feel the wind die down to a breeze. "Sakura!" Sasuke cried shooting up from where he had fallen. "Sakura, where are they? What happened?" He ran to her side, knife in hand.

"Gone," she murmured as she continued looking at the sky the men had just been.

"What?"

"Sakura! Sakura, are you there?" Naruto's voice hollered from the street side of the cemetery, though further away from where she and Sasuke were. Ino's and Lee's voices were also calling out occasionally. There was a patter of feet as Ino ran up to the fence and shined her flashlight over her friends.

"Oh thank goodness you're all right, Sakura!" she cried out with tears in her eyes as she climbed over the fence. She ran to Sakura and threw her arms around her friend as the other two boys quickly made their way over. Lee went to Sakura and began to pester her about what happened while Naruto stood by Sasuke.

"He's still going on about ghosts, huh? Man..." he looked down and saw the knife in Sasuke's hands. He grabbed Sasuke's shoulders and swallowed. "Sasuke, what happened?"

Sasuke shook his head, a confused expression on his face, and stepped free of Naruto's hold. "I don't know."

----------

There were several pops as the ANBU members returned to their base. The support member collapsed to the ground, dripping with sweat and breathing heavily. He gasped for breath before speaking into the radio headset he wore. "Medical team requested; one member of the platoon has suffered damage from the inability to adjust to the dimension the mission took place in."

Yamamba and Fukurou took off their masks and cloaks before walking over to the support member and helping him stand. Kitsune stayed in his circle, watching Hebi who hadn't moved either.

----------

"One member could not adjust and vaporized soon after arrival. The only other squad member to suffer damage lost an arm. Their support had trouble maintaining the connection, however," the elderly woman reported.

"They're learning to control their output better," the healthier of the two noted.

"But now we only have seven ANBU with the knowledge, training, and ability to travel space-time," pointed out the second man, voice muffled behind a bandage.

"The Inner Being is attached itself to a young child, only one ANBU will be needed to bring it here," the first man replied.

"The ninja who found the host was the first to adjust his chakra to that world. He felt its chakra while still traveling and was able to land within a quarter of a kilometer away from the target. That's far more precise than ever," the woman reminded the second man.

"Even with the limits on how much chakra he is able to use, it performed better than his teammates," continued the first.

"If we can get the Inner Being, we'll be able to defeat Orochimaru once and for all," she declared.

"Are we positive that the Inner Being can be captured and brought back here?" the feeble man asked.

"Failure will mean the destruction of everything in this world, and our world itself. We must try," he was told.

----------

Hebi was resting in his room when Kitsune joined him. Hebi ignored his company, who was used to the treatment. Kitsune sat down on the reading chair. "You noticed, didn't you? That dimension... It's only eleven years behind this one. And it's similar to ours. _Very_ similar to ours, and our pasts." Hebi continued to ignore him. "You're there, I'm there, I'll be that they're there, and even _he's_ there."

"We're ninja, living weapons that do as they're told. We follow the rules and don't think for ourselves. ANBU," Hebi cut in.

"Do you really believe that, after everything that's happened?" Kitsune criticized.

"If we didn't, could we kill as easily as we do?" There was a hint of mourning in the question; he knew he was far from innocent.

"That may be so, but don't you remember what life was like before all of this started? Innocence isn't a crime, Hebi."

----------

After she had returned home, Sakura checking in on her father. He wasn't in his study, but his car was in the driveway, so she opened the door to his bedroom and found him sleeping. She couldn't tell if he was drunk, but she didn't see any liquor bottles and took it as a good sign.

She quietly closed his door and walked to her room for her pajamas before heading back downstairs to the bathroom. She turned the water on to fill the tub as she washed, and wrapped her clean hair up in a towel just as the tub finished filling up. Sakura stepped in and let the hot water soak away all the tension that had developed in her body over the last hour. She leaned her head back and sighed. "What happened, and who were those men? Think, Sakura, how do you know Hebi?" She closed her eyes and tried to remember.

----------

Sasuke put his chop sticks down and wiped his mouth with a napkin. Without speaking or looking at his father he left the table and headed upstairs to his room.

"Sasuke," his father began with a strained voice, as he put his coffee cup down gently.

"Thanks for the food," Sasuke cut him off and crept up the stairs. Once in the privacy of his room he slid down against the door and rested his forehead on his hands. "I couldn't do anything. Why am I so weak?" he asked, barely hearing himself.

----------

"Darn it, Sakura, wait up!" Ino pleaded as they ran through the streets the next day, making their way to a cafe.

"We're late, Ino. We have to hurry because it's not polite to keep people waiting! Especially since Kakashi-sensei is going to be there," Sakura yelled back to her.

"If _someone_ hadn't slept in, we wouldn't be late, now would we?"

"I said I was sorry, didn't I? Now stop talking, you'll bite your tongue!"

"Argh! Why you!"

"What? I can't hear you, Ino. Hurry up, will you?"

"I _am_ hurrying; you're just a monster that can run fast."

"I am _not_ a monster, so hurry, okay?"

They arrived in front of the cafe together, although Ino was breathing as if she had just run the mile for the first time. Lee noticed, and immediately offered her some of his water. "Are you okay, Ino?"

"I feel like throwing up," she answered. She turned around and faced one of the bushes near the door. "I'm going to die."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Just don't hurt yourself as you do, okay?"

"Kakashi-sensei..." Ino glared at him.

"Oh dear, you crushed some of the flowers on the bush, Ino," Lee noticed.

"Who cares?!" Ino half-heartedly threw his water bottle back to him before going into the cafe. They found a table and ordered drinks and foods quickly, and then Lee started explaining what had happened the previous night to their teacher, with Ino and Sakura correcting him and offering other information.

Kakashi sat through the whole story with the same bored look on his face, though he would occasionally ask question or make noncommittal noises. Lee took a long sip from his drink and smacked his lips together. "So, do you believe us, Kakashi-sensei?" he asked when he had finished. "It matches with the other sightings, doesn't it? Only it's even scarier! A real-live successful ghost hunt experience! Right, Ino?"

Ino was sitting back in the booth, resting her head against the wall. She had dipped her cloth napkin in her ice water and it was now folded over her forehead. "Naruto was screaming like a little girl. I think he even wet himself."

Kakashi giggled, much to the horror of his students. He coughed and cleared his throat. "You kids shouldn't be going out so late at night, though. If the school found out you could get summer detention, you know."

"We're not doing anything dangerous, though, sensei," Ino shrugged.

"And besides, we're fast enough to run away without getting caught, aren't we?" Sakura laughed.

Ino shivered as she remembered running for her life as they were chased. "That isn't funny, Sakura."

"But you know, I heard about another ghost," Kakashi mused.

"What? Really!" Lee exclaimed, slapping his hands on the table top. "Tell us, sensei, please!"

"Where did I hear it?" Kakashi scratched his head. "Ah, that's right! My neighbor's niece saw it. She was walking home alone one night, after a date to see the new movie at the theatre, and she passed the Hokage Mountain. She said there was a ghost – the hand of a ghost."

Lee swooned and Ino looked dubious. "Just the hand?"

"Isn't it wonderful how we have so many ghosts in this town? Our chances of seeing more are getting higher each day! We should call the news and tell them about all the paranormal activity! Konoha could become famous!" Lee rejoiced loudly. Sakura noticed the stares Lee was attracting and wanted to sink down in her seat.

----------

Sasuke slung his backpack over his shoulder as he walked down the stairwell. His father was waiting for him at the bottom, and he paused, not sure what he father would say. "I'll let you go by yourself today, Sasuke, but if you don't make it to cram school on time I'll be taking you there for the rest of the year, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Sasuke spoke quietly, shifting his weight uncomfortably.

"If you just concentrate on your studies, I'm sure you'll do well. Getting into a good school in the capital is just the begin-"

"I! I don't want to take tests for other schools. I just want to stay here," he stammered out, digging his fingernails into his palms as he clenched his fists. "I don't want you to make decisions, especially important ones for me. I can think for myself."

"What did you say?" his father asked incredulously, his expression growing hard. "Do you have any idea how young you are? You're nowhere near old enough to decide such things for yourself. You can't take care of yourself."

_"You can't do it,"_ the man with red eyes told him as if it were the most obvious fact in the world. _"You can't."_ Sasuke started to shake at the memory, at his inability to be an adult.

"Sasuke," his father spoke slowly, walking up a step. "I'm your father; let me take care of you-"

"NO!" Sasuke screamed, looking at his father for the first time. He ripped his backpack off and shoved his father into the banister in his effort to move past him and out of the house, slamming the door shut behind him.

Several blocks away there was an abandoned house that was falling into disrepair. There was a well-built shed in its backyard that was locked shut to keep delinquents out of it. Sasuke ran to it, and pulled out the key to the lock. He opened the door and made his way into the musty space. In a cardboard box in the back corner farthest from the door he kept a small duffle bag with a few clothes for different types of weather in it and a sleeping bag that his father didn't know he had bought. When he had first thought about running away, Sasuke had made sure he had everything he would need, so that he could leave at any moment. He kept the things in the shed because he knew nobody would find it. Sasuke hooked the sleeping bag to the duffle bag and left the shed, leaving the door open and taking the lock and key with him. He wasn't exactly sure of where he was going, but he figured he could use the time wandering around to decide what to do.

Naruto was waiting at a bus stop, flipping through the latest volume of a comic book he borrowed from his uncle, when he noticed Sasuke walking on the other side of the road before he turned down a side street. Naruto crossed the street and followed his friend. "Sasuke, wait up, man!" he called out. The dark-haired youth kept walking, though he slowed down. "Nice luggage, running away or something?" Naruto teased. "Not Uchiha Sasuke! You're probably bringing all this stuff so you can spend the night at your cram school studying, huh? Wow, you sure are dedicated, you know that? Gotta study so you can make sure you pass. Study, you pass. Study a lot, you have a better chance of passing."

"I'm...!" Sasuke breathed in and held his breath, uncertain of what he wanted to say.

Naruto threw an arm over Sasuke's shoulders and leaned against him. "If you keep going to cram school, who knows what'll happen to you. It won't be good whatever it is. We're all worried about you, Sasuke. Why don't you rejoin the karate club? You were good at it."

"You're better at it than me," Sasuke said. Naruto shot him a confused glance. They had been neck-to-neck last year, but he supposed Sasuke was assuming he'd grown in talent in the past year. He knew it took a lot for Sasuke to admit it, so Naruto tried to cheer his friend up. "You're too serious, man," he told him with a slap on his back. "Enjoy your life."

Sasuke shrugged out from Naruto's arm and spun around, face warm with anger. "What do you know about it?" he yelled before swiftly continuing down the street.

"Sasuke, wait up dammit!" Naruto pulled Sasuke's shoulder, forcing the boy to look at him.

Sasuke swatted Naruto's arm away. "Just shut up!"

"Why you!" Naruto growled and pushed Sasuke and pinned him down to the ground by sitting on him. "You do everything you father tells you to do! You make me sick, bending to his will!"

"No, you're wrong!"

"Oh really? Well prove me wrong then!" Naruto screamed.

"You wouldn't be able to understand!"

----------

"Hey, Sakura, do you hear something?" Ino asked her as they walked home from the cafe.

"Huh?"

"It sounds like Naruto and Sasuke," she continued.

They turned the corner and found their two friends fighting each other at the other end of the block. They hurried over to break them apart, a difficult task without getting hit by accident. "Guys, stop it! What are you doing?" Sakura implored.

Ino dragged Naruto off of Sasuke with a bit of effort. "Stop, Naruto."

Sakura crouched down by Sasuke. "Sasuke, are you hurt?" she asked worriedly.

The two boys glared at each other before Naruto shook his arm free of Ino's grasp. "Fine, if you like being messed up, be that way." He stalked back to the bus stop.

"Naruto!" Ino's voice followed him, but he ignored it. "Jeeze, what were you two fighting about anyway, Sasuke?"

He said nothing, jaw quivering with repressed emotion. Ino shrugged at Sakura and nodded in Naruto's direction before leaving her alone with Sasuke. He stood up without her help and began walking again, not even offering her a "thank you". She went with him, though she walked ten paces behind him. "You're running away, aren't you, Sasuke?"

He stopped and turned his head to look at her. "Stop following me."

"If you're running away, I'll go with you," she said stubbornly.

"Why run away if you have nothing to run away from, Sakura?" his face was a soft pink from anger. "You might only live with your dad, but you know both of your parents still love you, right? They trust you, don't they?" He shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment. "But my family... _what's left_ of my family is broken. My father wants to take care of me, says he loves me, but he doesn't act like it! Actions speak louder than words."

"But he kept you, didn't he? He didn't have your grandparents or-"

"Don't try to cover for him."

"You've got to believe me, Sasuke. It's the truth," she entreated. "And if you don't, and you still want to run away - I'll go with you, as proof that I care about you." She smiled. "I told you I'd always be there for you, didn't I? Wherever you want to go, I'll be beside you."

Sasuke was speechless at her honesty and hung his head. Silence reigned between them for several seconds before Sakura walked up to him and took his left hand between both of hers and led him on into the sunset.

----------

"Remind me why we came here?" Sasuke questioned her with a bored voice as they walked to the railing on the side of the mountain.

"We're running away, aren't we? I wanted to get one last look of the village," Sakura replied seriously. "You can see everything from here." The mountain was a popular destination – you could take tours of the caverns inside of it and see the carvings from the inside, you could look up at the war heroes from the bottom, or you could make your way to the top and see one of the most breathtaking scenes in the country. Sakura towed Sasuke through the crowd that had come to watch the sun set. They reached the railing and Sakura breathed in deeply. "Ah," she said, letting her breath out. "I'll miss you, Konoha."

"Be careful!" a woman called out. Sasuke and Sakura turned to see a small child running to the railing, eyes wide with excitement.

"Momma! Poppa! C'mere and look at all the pretty lights!" the child sang out to her parents. Her parents just watched her with smiles on their faces. She pouted and ran back, tugging on her mother's skirt. "The lights, momma, all the buildings are lit up! It's really really pretty!"

"Okay, okay, lead the way," the woman laughed and was immediately pulled over by her daughter.

Sasuke watched them with a sad expression before looking over the place he had spent his whole life living in. It looked much larger from above, even though he knew exactly where everything was and how long it took to get there from any given point. "I guess this is good-bye, isn't it?"

----------

When it had reached nine pm that night and Sasuke hadn't returned, his father picked up the phone and prepared to call the police station, but he found that he couldn't dial the number. He felt empty. He hung up the phone.

----------

At nine-thirty the guard did a quick and light check of the property before closing the museum and tourist center building. Sasuke and Sakura had moved to stand at the farther end of the mountain, and neither of them had seen the guard, who also missed them. After a few more minutes they walked towards the museum to take the hiking path back down, but found the doors locked. "Well, that's that," Sakura said quietly.

"What're we going to do?" Sasuke sat down on a bench.

"Spend the night here?"

"We can do that?"

"Too late to say otherwise now, Sasuke," his companion reminded him as she joined him. "Besides, we need to get used to camping out if we're running away. It's not like we have money to spend on hotels."

"I know, but," he started.

"I don't know about you, but I'm ready for sleep. May I use your sleeping bag?" she asked without waiting for an answer.

"Sure," he answered half-heartedly. He watched with a small smile as she exaggerated her struggle to unroll the tightly packed bag before laying it on the ground. She set it so that her head was facing the cliff, and she crawled in and rolled onto her stomach, watching the twinkling stars above the twinkling buildings. Sasuke stayed seated on the bench, looking out over the landscape. "Yesterday really happened, didn't it? You saw that man with red eyes?" Sakura didn't say anything, wondering if she should tell him about what had gone on when he had been seemingly frozen in time. He glanced at her, needing confirmation, and she offered him a small smile and a head bob. It was all he needed to continue. "He wasn't a ghost, but I don't think he was human, either." He balled his hands into fists.

"Sasuke," Sakura crawled out and took a step towards him.

"He taunted me, Sakura. Said I was weak, and that I wouldn't be able to save you," as he spoke he could hear the man's voice repeating _"You won't do it. You won't be able to save her."_ and it frightened him. He wanted to rip the memory from his mind.

"Sasuke, it's...," she trailed off as she felt something's presence. It was more than a tingling in the back of her neck, she knew someone was there, and she knew something bad was about to happen. She looked around, but couldn't see anyone.

"Hey, hey, look!" a young voice whispered in the wind.

"Sakura, did you hear that?"

She felt her heart began to race. "Sasuke..."

"We're not alone, Sakura."

"Momma! Poppa!" the child that they had seen earlier that night ran past them, only she didn't look the same. Sakura looked closer and saw that the girl was semitransparent.

"Sasuke!" She bumped into him and glanced over to him. He was right, they weren't alone, all around them were the visitors from earlier, and all of them were like the girl – translucent. "Is this an illusion?"

"_No, it's not an illusion. And you're not dreaming, Sakura_," a woman spoke. Sakura grabbed her head; it felt as if the woman had spoken from within her.

"What?"

"_What you're seeing are the chakra remnants of the people who visited this place today_," the woman explained.

"I don't understand," she shook her head, trying to shake the feeling of being invaded.

"Sakura, what's wrong?"

"_Everything that begins will end. Everything that ends will begin again_," the voice grew faint.

"Speak louder, please, I don't understand!" Sakura squeezed her eyes shut. Sasuke bumped into her soon afterwards, staring down at the village. "Sasuke?" she trailed her eyes to what he was looking at and gasped. Covering the entire town was a large circle with calligraphy and symbols in and around its shape.

----------

Near the traffic gate that remained as a memorial to the village's humble beginnings three cloaked figures wearing masks appeared.

"Fukurou, are you all right?" asked a large man wearing an ant mask.

"Yes, thank you, Kuroari," he replied looking up at the blue light of the circle that hovered overhead.

----------

A woman pulled of her panda bear mask as she climbed higher in a tree. "The landing wasn't in the right spot again?"

----------

On top of the school, Hebi rose from a crouch and looked at the Hokage Memorial.

----------

Tanuki chuckled evilly above the town hall. "Looks like I win today, Hebi. I'll take the Inner Being all for myself." He continued to laugh as the clouds that had passed in front of the moon cleared it, and basked in the pale yellow glow.


	4. Chapter Three: Ending

**Chapter Three: Ending**

The golden circle on the town faded, as did the chakra remnants on the cliff. Sasuke shook his head and crouched. "I really am going insane. I am."

Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but she sensed someone coming quickly up the mountain. No one would be foolish enough to climb the mountain, especially at night, she thought, but the niggling sensation in the back of her neck told her that whoever was approaching was coming from the front of the monument. The only possible explanation was that the person was riding in one of the small air trams that ran from the mountain top to the ground, allowing visitors to get the best views of the carved faces possible. But the trams weren't running. Just what was going on? As the person neared her she felt overwhelmed, as if his aura was enough to subdue her. Sakura shook Sasuke's shoulder urgently. "Sasuke, we have to get out of here."

"You're not going anywhere," a voiced hissed in the darkness. Tanuki jumped a seemingly impossible distance from the tram car's running cable to them without blinking an eye. He chuckled and stepped closer to them. Sasuke stood and grabbed one of Sakura's wrists. "Together again, huh? Young love?" he spit out the word "love" as if it were something vile.

"Run!" Sasuke commanded, pulling Sakura away from the masked man. They dashed to the museum, but a wall of sand blocked their path.

"You can't escape my sand."

"Let us go!" Sasuke cried; pulling out the knife he had brought with him to the cemetery.

"You...," Tanuki growled. There was something familiar about the boy, about the way he moved and spoke. Tanuki focused his chakra, slowly bringing the sand wall closer to his catch. He glanced at the boy, but for an instant, he had changed into someone else. Into Hebi. The realization caused him to cackle loudly. He stopped his sand and pushed back his mask, revealing a face with black-rimmed eyes, no eyebrows, and a tattoo on his left temple. "To think I'd meet you in this dimension, too, Hebi."

He teleported to Sasuke and grabbed his knife-wielding hand before stabbing himself with it. He let go of Sasuke's hand and the boy stumbled back, shocked to see that the blade had vanished, yet no harm had been done to the man in the cape. "Try as you might, you can't win. Understand now, boy?"

Sasuke dropped the hilt as he and Sakura took several steps backwards. Tanuki followed them. "Your existence irritates me." He swept his arm to the right and in a mimicking motion an arm of sand rose and slapped Sasuke's body, sending him flying to the railing on the cliff's edge. Sakura cried out, but was rooted to the ground by two hands of sand holding her ankles. Tanuki once more teleported to Sasuke as sand began to entomb the boy. "I could crush you here and now."

"No!" Sakura screamed, feeling a strength surge down to her feet. She jerked her ankles free and rushed to Sasuke. She leaned over his torso, shielding him from Tanuki. She could feel the grains of Sand slipping under her shirt as the wave bean to cover her as well. "Stop it!"

Gaara stared at her, taken aback at her action. Sasuke glared at the man, further startling him. They were black, but they were fierce. "The same... the same damn eyes!" he moaned, faltering a few steps back. He clutched his head as if in pain, and his back began to convulse. The gourd he wore shifted as it had the night before, molding itself into extensions of his body. Sakura felt the sand loosen and she tried to pull Sasuke up, but the sand around his legs had hardened into rock. "I'll kill each and everyone one of you, Hebi." Tanuki wrapped his mutated hand around Sasuke's body and began to squeeze him.

"NO!" Sakura screamed as she flung herself onto the rough digits and pulled as hard as she could.

It happened so quickly that she wasn't exactly sure what had happened. Tanuki's sand arm cracked and fell to the ground in a brown rain as he was tossed back into the museum wall, shattering the glass wall. The sand that had encased Sasuke's legs dropped into a sandy pile. Sakura wasted no time in pulling him up. Going through the museum and visitors' center was too risky, so there was only one more option – use the tram car to get down the mountain. Sasuke was still rather dazed and in pain so Sakura broke into the control booth and scanned for the proper switches to turn the machine on. It was mostly guesswork, but she heard a groan and the first car began to edge closer to the cliff. Sakura dragged Sasuke along and pushed him into the car before jumping in seconds before it began its descent down from the mountain top.

/\/\/\/\/\

Hebi was nearly to the mountain when he saw the tram running again. He felt the chakra coursing through him waver momentarily before he continued jumping from rooftop to rooftop on his way to where he sensed Tanuki's chakra.

/\/\/\/\/\

Inside the nearly empty tram car Sakura and Sasuke sat catching their breath. It was Sakura who found her voice first. "He was trying to kill you, Sasuke." She was met with silence. "Why?"

"Like I would know. I don't even know who he is," Sasuke voice was soft, muffled by his arms wrapped around his knees. "But I know he isn't human."

"Then-" the crash on the tram's roof silenced Sakura as the car shook dangerously.

They both rose, looking above. Sasuke moved in front of Sakura as another thump landed on the roof. Neither of them spoke as the thumps continued. After a few moments they stopped. "Is it gone?"

The slam against the glass answered his question as he and Sakura spun around and shrieked. Tanuki had found them. He chuckled softly as he licked his lips before letting the sand pull him back to the top of the car. The sand moved to loosen the large bolts that connected the car to the guide wire. What would normally take a large machine with a huge amount of force was quickly done without using all of the sand from his gourd.

"Sakura, hang onto something!" Sasuke urged as the car lurched. As soon as she had looped her arms around an elbow rail the car separated from its tracking arms. They screamed as they were lifted into the air as the car picked up speed. It started to tip forward onto its side when it stopped forcefully. Sasuke lost his grip and crashed to the bottom, landing on Sakura. She grunted and put a hand on his shoulder to move him, but a dark shape in the moonlight caught her eye. Sasuke was also watching the shape balance on one of the cables as it slowly raised its shoulders and back. The car jerked up with the shape's motion.

"He saved us," Sakura murmured as the car rocked back and forth like a pendulum. Sasuke shifted off of her, allowing her to twist her body to try and see how they had stopped. Crisscrossing the windows on the tram's side, now over their heads, were coils that seemed to be covered in snakeskin. She heard the sound of something moving and looked below her, at the glass under her feet. It wasn't that the ropes were wrapped in snakeskin; it was that the ropes were snakes. She squeaked and snatched Sasuke's sleeve in her hand. "It's Hebi, Sasuke."

Sasuke's expression changed slightly as he moved out of her grip and stood up, peeking past the snakes wrapped around the car to discern their savior. The moon was shining behind the man's body, silhouetting him. Red eyes gazed down at him.

"Must you always get in the way?" Tanuki's voice rasped. Hebi tore his eyes from Sasuke and looked up at the man further up the cable line. "It's in your nature, isn't it? No escaping it whichever dimension we're in. That irritates me," Tanuki went on, the gourd morphing into body extensions once more. Hebi looked down and saw both of the kids in the car watching him as a wave of sand rose up from the forest floor they were hovering over. Two smaller snakes that were connecting Hebi's arm to the car slithered up quickly and formed a shield that Hebi crouched behind as the sand bullets reached him.

"Chidori Nagashi!" Hebi bellowed as he sent the electricity up through one of the guide wires. As it sped towards Tanuki, it jumped to the two other wires the tram ran on, and grew in strength, spitting and sputtering several inches away from the center of its power. Tanuki jumped high enough out of its reach and sent more sand bullets down. One hit Hebi and he lost his balance, lilting forward. The car swayed and lowered as well, but the snakes Hebi had summoned from his arm held tight.

"Tsk, tsk," Tanuki clicked as he walked down the cable, perfectly balanced. "You'll use up all your chakra trying to save them, but if you let them fall there's a chance that you – and the Inner Being – will survive." Tanuki laughed evilly as he prepared another wave of sand bullets to fly at Hebi. The dark-haired man skillfully evaded several of the projectiles, only getting hit in his left shoulder once before a cannonball of hardened sand pummeled into his abdomen. Despite the continuous blows, he never let go of the car. Sasuke and Sakura huddled together as the car shifted with each hit.

"We're going to die," Sasuke whispered. The car lurched closer to the ground several times in a row. "We're not going to make it, he can't save us." Hebi's right arm, the one he had called the snakes with, took a hard hit and the snakes loosened their hold. "We're going to die," Sasuke whispered again.

"Be quiet!" Hebi commanded. Sasuke shot his head up and saw the man glaring at him. He had no idea how he had been heard. "If you can't do anything, just deal with it." Another hit connected with his left arm.

"I can't," Sasuke choked as the car dropped a few more feet.

"Sasuke," Sakura's eyes were edged with tears.

"Fool," Hebi hissed. "You don't want to die, but you won't fight? Open your eyes! Don't you have something worth protecting?"

"I'm not strong enough!"

Tanuki threw a spear of sand that pierced one of Hebi's legs, causing him to fall onto the cables.

"I won't make it."

Hebi pulled out the spear and shook his hand has the sand lost its shape. "Then die already. If you can't find the power to live past trials, why bother living?"

"Such inspirational words, Hebi," Tanuki called. "Speaking from personal experience, eh?" His morphed limbs quivered as his face became distorted as the sand changed it. "Find the power to live through this, then." Tanuki filled his chest with air and blew out a massive blanket of sand. Sakura watched with eyes full of fear as Hebi sank his teeth into his bottom lip, and rubbing the cut along his left arm. A large cobra appeared, wrapped around his body and the guide wires. It flung his tail against the oncoming sand and unwrapped itself from Hebi as it fell downward. Tanuki swept his sand-covered arm and knocked Hebi off of the cable as well. The force of the impact caused him to lose his grip on the snakes holding the car. He tried to summon another snake to catch the ones he had dropped, but Tanuki's sand tied his wrists behind his back so that he couldn't move.

/\/\/\/\/\

"Forbidden chakra detected, forced return initiated."

/\/\/\/\/\

A golden light shone in the night behind Tanuki, and it faded enough that one could see the ornate circle's design before it wrapped around the cackling man. When he became aware of what was going on he began to scream, but his cried were muffled and then silenced as he vanished.

/\/\/\/\/\

The tram car crashed through the forest canopy and slammed against several boughs before crushing into the ground. Sakura and Sasuke landed in a heap, bruised and worse for wear, though not severely injured. Sasuke came to first and found Sakura lying over him perpendicularly. He lifted a hand to her face, brushing her pink hair out of her closed eyes. "Sakura? Sakura are you okay?"

Her eyes fluttered open and she offered him a weak smile. "I am, thanks for breaking my fall." He scowled and turned his head away.

/\/\/\/\/\

Kurenai's computer was once again racing to keep up with the data it was collecting. Her fingers were flying across her laptop's keyboard, trying to find out the cause of the sudden increase of information. All at once, it stopped.

"Again?" she asked, shocked.

"Maybe your computer's dying," Asuma drawled out, squinting at the road his headlights were doing a poor job of lighting. He hated driving at night, but driving through a forest on a poorly paved road at night was even worse.

"Not a chance, I built it with brand new parts and software before coming to Konoha. There's something out there, something that's mobile, doing this to the data."

/\/\/\/\/\

"Sasuke, are you sure you're okay?" Sakura asked as she pushed her way through some bramble.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm fine?"

"But I landed on you pretty hard, and your legs were nearly crushed by Tanuki."

"Just forget it, okay? I'm fine," he shoved past her, clearing a path better than she had been. It was a few minutes before they reached one of the hiking trails, and after a few minutes of walking in silence along it, they came to the road.

"Look, a car!" Sakura exclaimed as a pair of high beams came into view. She hurried to the road.

"Sakura, be careful!" Sasuke called. Sakura stumbled onto the road right as the car was following the turn in the road. The passengers screamed as Sakura was blinded by the headlights. The driver slammed onto his breaks, and the car stopped inches away from Sakura. He looked up and saw Sakura squinting.

"A little girl?" he asked his passenger.

Sasuke joined Sakura in the headlights, "Are you insane?"

Sakura ignored him and jogged to the driver's door. "I'm sorry, but do you think you could give us a ride back to the center of town?"

"Sakura-" Sasuke warned.

The driver lowered his window. "You're that girl-"

"You're the man from the park!" She smiled at Asuma.

/\/\/\/\/\

A man in white sat beside a large circle painted in red on the floor or a large room. "Forced return successful," he spoke as Tanuki dropped to the ground, gasping for air. Two large ninja leaned down to pick him up. One held him as the other placed chakra shackles around Tanuki's wrists and ankles before they carried him out of the room.

/\/\/\/\/\

"Tanuki used his forbidden chakra," Washi spoke sternly. "To think he'd be backed deep enough into a corner that he'd need it." Yamamba nodded.

"It might not be due to the Inner Being being strong, though. Will there be a change in how our mission is carried out?" Kitsune asked from the shade of a tree.

"Whatever the case is, using that chakra could damage this world, and we can't have that. We'll proceed with more caution," the captain replied.

"So you should be extra careful, Kitsune. You and Hebi are the only others with limits on how much chakra you can use, and we still don't know where he is," Fukurou reminded. Kitsune just growled in reply.

"Kuroari, make sure that any chakra residue from Tanuki is cleaned up. Yamamba and Fukurou, see to it that any damage is repaired. Itachi, Kitsune, and I will search for Hebi," Washi spoke authoritatively before falling against a tree.

"Washi!" Yamamba reached out to hold his arm.

"I'm not adapting to this dimension, that's all. As long as I have my eyes I can be here."

/\/\/\/\/\

"You expect me to believe that?" Sasuke father asked coldly. He was standing in the middle of the doorframe to Sasuke's room with the hall light illuminating him from behind. He looked even more menacing than normal, as Sasuke sat on his bed in his unlit room. "What would your mother say if she was hear, hm, Sasuke?"

Sasuke tightened his jaw and dug his nails into his comforter as he balled his hands into fists. _'She'd act concerned, and cluck her disappointment while checking me over for any cuts. She wouldn't act like you.'_ he thought.

"You're not allowed to go anywhere except for cram school for the rest of the summer. I will be taking you to and from there. And if need be, I will sit outside the door to make sure you don't sneak out." Without asking if Sasuke understood, he closed the door. Sasuke dropped his head into his hands and wished his mother were still alive.

/\/\/\/\/\

"And then he said something loudly, like his attack name, or something, and then there was a flash of blue," Sakura was animatedly telling her father as he tried to rub medicine on one of the bruises she had gotten that night.

"Stop moving, Sakura, you don't want me to push too hard on a bruise now, do you?" her father sighed. "It's the summer, Sakura; everyone says they see ghosts this time of year."

"Ow!" she cried out, pouting at her father.

"Serves you right," he winked backed. "If you keep spending most of the night out, worse could happen to you." He twisted the cap back onto the tube of ointment and stood up with a yawn.

"You think I'm lying, don't you, dad?"

"Huh?"

"They weren't ghosts!"

"Back when I was your age, I thought up things like that, too, Sakura. It's why I'm a writer now."

"But I'm telling the truth, dad!" Sakura huffed. Her father lifted a white eyebrow quizzically. "Bah, fine!" Sakura sighed as she pushed herself off of their couch. "You took your bath already, right?" She marched up the stairs, leaving her father in the living room, shaking his head.

Sakura began filling the bathtub as she stripped, pondering that night's events. "He saved us. Twice. I hope he's doing all right." She rubbed her forehead and winced. "Huh, did I get a bruise there, too?" She walked to the mirror over the sink and peered at her reflection, but she didn't see any sign of a bruise. "Just another weird thing, huh?" She sat down and quickly washed before taking a long soak in the tub.

/\/\/\/\/\

Downstairs her father was at his desk in his study, holding the tube of medicine he had just applied to Sakura's bruises. He held a black phone handset to his ear and felt his heart pounding as he waited for the person on the other end to answer. Finally, they did.

"Hi, it's me," he spoke softly.

/\/\/\/\/\

Kurenai and Asuma reached the top of the mountain memorial. They stepped out of the car and looked around. They could see nothing wrong with the building. "I'd like to think Sakura was telling the truth..." her voiced led off.

"But?" Asuma lit a cigarette.

"But how would everything get fixed in such a short amount of time?"

"You're the one that came here to study multiple dimensions, Kurenai, maybe it's got something to do with that?"

Kurenai looked at him, shocked he would come to that conclusion. Then she smiled and walked away from him so that he could enjoy his cigarette break.

/\/\/\/\/\

In the woods Yamamba and Fukurou glanced at their surroundings. It was impossible to tell that a tram car had crashed right where they were standing. "I think our work here is done, Yamamba."

"Let's catch up with Washi, who knows how long it'll take to find Hebi," the woman replied, making sure her mask was on tightly.

/\/\/\/\/\

"Can you see him?" Kitsune asked pensively. Washi shook his head and sighed.

"No, he's not within fifteen kilometers of this building."

"He's still here, though, right?" Kitsune checked.

"Yes," Itachi replied. "You feel him, don't you?"

Washi looked at Kitsune expectantly. Kitsune was quiet for a moment before nodding. "He's here, but he's lost a lot of chakra."

/\/\/\/\/\

Tanuki screamed out in pain as part of his chakra supply was removed from his body. "NO! Stop! I need that chakra! I need to protect Suna!"

One of the men holding Tanuki down turned to the man next to him. "Wasn't Suna destroyed seven years ago?" he asked.

The man nodded. "He was the Kazekage at the time."

The one who had asked the question shook his head sadly. "We must stop Orochimaru at all costs."

Tanuki continued to scream until his throat was dry. A few minutes after that, he passed out and was put into a holding room to recover.

/\/\/\/\/\

"None of the newspapers have any articles about it, Sakura," Lee said, straightening up from his seat on the floor. "And none of the news stations on television mentioned it, either."

"There's nothing wrong with the tram line, either. I checked it out before I came here. All the usual cars are working and the museum was open like it always is," Ino put in as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"Yeah, but I know what I saw," Sakura defended from her seat at her desk.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Haven't you been able to see weird things ever since you were little? Maybe now that you're going through puberty it's come back."

"Oh, Ino, please! At least not in front of Lee," Sakura blushed.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, Sakura, I've noticed-"

"I'm not having a lapse, okay? You saw the person at the graveyard, too, guys."

"Yeah, but that was it. You've seen them on at least two other occasions."

"Sakura, if you were able to see spirits when you were little, it makes sense that they'd still be hanging around you," Lee folded one of the newspapers. "Oh, I'm so jealous!"

"But the one was attacking Sasuke," Sakura pointed out. "He did it last night and at the cemetery. We can't be certain that it's me they're hanging around."

Lee paused and glanced at Sakura with a distraught expression on his face. "You sure spend a lot of time alone with Sasuke, Sakura."

Ino smirked and leaned towards Sakura. "Are you two finally dating yet?"

Sakura gaped at her friend. "Why would you think that? You know how my dad would be if he found out I had a boyfriend! And Sasuke's dad wouldn't allow it, either!"

Lee sniffed. "But you're always alone together."

"And all we do is talk!" Sakura shot a look to Ino. "This is all your fault, Ino-pig, look what you've started."

Ino grinned and plopped down on a pillow across from Lee.

"Sakura, you must know that I've loved you ever since we met! If I have to challenge Sasuke for your affection, please tell me!"

"WHAT?!" Ino and Sakura both cried out.

"It's customary for men to see who the stronger is when a woman is concerned. Oh, but I don't know if I can win against Sasuke. He's clearly better looking than me," Lee sobbed over his newspapers. Sakura and Ino exchanged confused glances.

"Lee, you're going overboard," Ino tried to calm him down.

"All right!" Lee declared sitting up again. "If you love him I won't stand in your way. I hope you two will be happy together!"

"Uh, thanks, Lee," Sakura nodded.

"There are plenty of girls in Konoha! One of them is the girl for me!"

Ino clapped and laughed, which was all the encouragement Lee needed to continue.

/\/\/\/\/\

After Ino and Lee had left (something about beginning "Operation: Get Over Sakura" right away) Sakura headed over to Sasuke's house. Sasuke and his father lived in a house east of the mountain from Sakura's house, but it was a nice walk through the shopping district and the peaceful residential neighborhood, so she didn't mind the walk.

When Sakura arrived at Sasuke's house she walked up the well-manicured path and rang the doorbell. After a few moments of waiting she rang it again. Sasuke's father answered the door, and once he saw her he frowned. "Sasuke isn't allowed to see his classmates from school for the rest of the summer. He knew he was breaking my rules and is receiving the punishment he knew to expect. So please, don't come by anymore."

"But it's-"

"He needs to focus on his exams, Ms. Haruno. I suggest you do the same, or else you may end up like your father."

Sakura tried to explain but Sasuke's father shut the door. She was about to ring the bell again when she heard a click. Mr. Uchiha had locked the door. She stepped back and checked Sasuke's window. It was closed and his blue curtains were pulled across it. "Sasuke," she whispered, shaking her head and turning to walk back home.

As she turned she was struck with a vision of Hebi as he fell from the cables the previous night. In his room, Sasuke saw the same vision. Both huddled over and clutched their chests as if they had been punched. "What was that?" Sakura wondered as she stood up. She gasped when she looked up and saw the mountain carvings. She was closer to the first hero and not the fourth as she had been, as she was at Sasuke's house. "This is the Old District," she recognized. Sasuke had lived in the Old District until he was seven. That year his house had burned down, along with several other houses on his block. No one had wanted to move in to that neighborhood afterwards, so the town made the space into a small park with a few benches and trees. No one really visited it, except if they were waiting for the bus that stopped there.

Sakura still remembered how she and Sasuke would play hide-and-seek in his large house, with several of his cousins. Once she got her bearings straight, Sakura jogged to the park, not understanding how she had ended up there or why she felt the need to get to the park.

When she was a block away, she slowed down and caught her breath. As she neared the park she scanned it to see if there was anyone there. She couldn't see anyone right away, but once she entered it she saw a piece of black fabric peeking out from behind a tree near the corner of the park beside a bush. _'It's Hebi!'_ her mind declared as she hurried over to stand in front of him.

He was leaning against the tree, breathing deeply and sweating. He looked unhealthy, and Sakura felt her throat tighten.

"You wanted me to find you, you brought me here, didn't you Hebi?" she asked him urgently.

He blinked slowly and moved his lips. Sakura walked closer to hear him. "Water," he repeated. "I need water."

Sakura took a deep breath and tried to think of where she could get water from. The house on the other side of the park, the only one on the block that hadn't been burned too badly had an exterior spout facing the park. Sakura ran to it and quickly filled her hands with the ice cold liquid. She squeezed her hands tightly together so that the water wouldn't drip out and left the spout running as she walked back to Hebi. "Here," she said, crouching down beside him.

He startled her when instead of putting his hands out for the water he pulled her wrists to his mouth and drank from her hands. His lips were dry and cracked; it was clear why he had asked for it. She brought him water two more times, and each time he drank from her hands. The forth time she turned to get more, but he stopped her by holding her wrist.

Sakura thought she would be frightened, but she didn't feel any malice in his action. Truth be told, she felt he was very familiar to her. They looked at each other in silence for a few moments before Hebi spoke. "It's really you, isn't it? Come with me, Sakura." His voice was gentle, nothing like how he spoke to Tanuki. There was a deep longing in his eyes, a longing she didn't understand. She was about to reply when five figures in cloaks sprang up from the ground.

Sakura's heart began to race, but Hebi's loose hold on her didn't tighten. "Sasuke isn't here," she told them with a shaky voice.

"I knew you would succeed, Hebi. The Inner Being is in this girl?" Washi spoke frankly.

Sakura blinked, she had heard that before, hadn't she? "Inner Being?"

Hebi spoke next, "We aren't after Sasuke, Sakura."

"What?" she twisted her body and gazed down at him, alarmed.

Hebi lifted his eyes to her, and she realized that his eyes were black, and they had been during their entire time together. "Sakura, we're after you."


End file.
